In late August of this year, one rude man from Shandong who refused to give up the seat he took from another passenger became known as the “High-Speed Train Tyrant” (高铁霸座男 gāotiě bà zuò nán) on Chinese social media.
A video showing the man’s bizarre behavior went viral, and netizens were especially angry because the man pretended he could not get up from the stolen seat and needed a wheelchair – although he did not need one when boarding the train.
The man pretended he needed a wheelchair, but actually did not want to give up the window seat.
The man was later temporarily blacklisted for his actions. Although he apologized in a public video, a newer video (Youtube link) made clear the man was everything but remorseful, as it showed him laughing, using an office chair as a ‘wheelchair,’ and joking around about his own behavior.
The “train tyrant” from Shandong.
The train bully that is now going viral, is a woman from Hunan who has been dubbed ‘High-Speed Train Tyrant Woman’ (高铁霸座女 gāotiě bà zuò nǚ”) by Weibo netizens. She had taken a seat assigned to another passenger while riding the train from Yongzhou to Shenzhen.
A video (YouTube link here) – that has become one of the most-discussed topics on Weibo today – shows how a woman on a high-speed train makes a scene when the train conductor tells her she is in the wrong seat. She refuses to get up from her window seat to return to her own seat.
Instead, she raises her voice, talks rudely to the conductor, and simply claims she has bought a ticket and will not change to another seat until she has reached her final destination.
The hashtag “High-Speed Tyrant Woman” (#高铁霸座女#) already saw a staggering 450 million views at time of writing.
According to a Weibo statement that has been issued by Hengyang Railway Security (@衡阳铁路公安处) since the topic has become trending, the incident occurred on Wednesday, September 19, on a G6078 train. The stubborn passenger is the 32-year-old Ms. Zhou. She has now been fined 200 RMB (±$30) for “disturbing the order.”
Weibo statement.
“Couldn’t you fine these passengers a bit more?”, some netizens wonder: “If the fine were higher, it might not happen that often anymore.”
Many netizens are simply outraged: “Isn’t this a society that is ruled by law? What do we do with these people?”
“How can people be so shameless?”, a typical comment says.
While the incident is a source of anger for many, it is a source of banter for some; the incident has triggered a wave of new memes today that put the Shandong train tyrant and the woman together.
Some examples here:
Here:
…here:
Or here:
Meanwhile, Guangzhou Railways (@广州铁路) has also responded to the issue on Weibo, stating that in cases such as these (when passengers are fined for their behavior), passengers can expect a 180-day ban from purchasing train tickets.
Just as in the case with the male ‘train tyrant,’ this time as well, the so-called human flesh search engine has come into action once the video went viral, meaning many netizens went digging to reveal the woman’s identity. Her personal details have since been exposed on social media – a burden that will probably weigh much heavier on her than a temporary train ban or a 200 RMB fine.
By Manya Koetse
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